Dental Students' Knowledge about Indications of Antibiotics in the Treatment of Endodontic Infections

Abstract

Objective: Aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Ordu University, Faculty of Dentistry students about systemic antibiotic indications in endodontic infections. Materials and Methods: Third, fourth and fifth year students of Ordu University, Faculty of Dentistry were asked to provide an online survey about systemic antibiotic indications for the management of endodontic infections. Two hundred and sixteen students were requested to participate in this survey. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and Fischer's exact test were used to analyze the data. Significance level was set at P<0.05. Results: One hundred eighty-five students (85.6%) answered the questions satisfactorily. The most preferred antibiotic prescribing duration was determined as 7 days (42.2%). Among all respondents, the most preferred antibiotics in adult patients not allergic to penicillin were Amoxicillin + Clavulanic acid 1gm (31.4%) and Amoxicillin 500mg (18.4%), respectively. The most preferred antibiotic in patients with allergies to penicillin was Clindamycin 600mg (58.4%). In symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP) cases with necrotic pulp, moderate/severe symptoms and no swelling, 11.4% of the respondents prescribed antibiotics, while 64.9% of the respondents prescribed antibiotics at SAP cases with necrotic pulp, swelling and moderate/severe symptoms. Conclusion: Dental students showed satisfactory knowledge about antibiotic prescribing in endodontic infections when compared to their peers in other studies. Specific aspects of antibiotic prescribing knowledge that needs improvement include types of antibiotics and indications for antibiotic prescribing in endodontic infections.